A ticker-tape parade will wind its way up Broadway in Lower Manhattan on Thursday morning to celebrate the Knicks’ first N.B.A. championship title in five decades.
“Through near misses, heartbreak and a hope that every year could be our year, this city never stopped believing in the Knicks,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement on Saturday night. “Now it’s time for our city to celebrate together.”
As part of the event, City Hall and other government buildings, including the David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building and Brooklyn Borough Hall, will be illuminated in blue and orange, the mayor said.
Here is what to know about the planned parade.
When and where will the parade begin?
The festivities are expected to begin at 10 a.m. near Battery Park. The team will travel about one mile north along Broadway through the Canyon of Heroes, the traditional route for such celebrations, with plaques embedded along the way to mark every ticker-tape parade over the last 140 years.
Where will it end?
The parade will conclude at Broadway and Chambers Street, next to City Hall, where Mr. Mamdani is expected to present the team with keys to the city.
Who will be there?
Mr. Mamdani and Knicks players, including Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns, are expected to participate in the parade.
It was unclear on Sunday whether James Dolan, the owner of the Knicks and the head of Madison Square Garden Sports, would attend the event.
Last week, Mr. Dolan called Mr. Mamdani and the police commissioner, Jessica S. Tisch, fake Knicks fans after the city decided to maintain a strict security zone around the Garden in order to prevent watch parties from spinning out of control.
Huge numbers of fans are expected to attend the event.
What is a ticker-tape parade?
A ticker-tape parade is a longstanding New York City tradition to honor people who were part of monumental moments, including members of the military, astronauts, foreign dignitaries, Olympians and players from New York sports teams.
The first was held in 1886 as a dedication of the Statue of Liberty. The event earned its name from scraps of ticker tape — paper ribbon used to print stock market data by telegraph — that served as confetti.
To date, there have been more than 200 such celebrations. They include the centennial of George Washington’s presidency in 1889, the solo trans-Atlantic flights of Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart in the 1920s, the Yankees 1961 World Series win, Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990 and a 2021 celebration of health care and essential workers who served New Yorkers during the pandemic.
The Thursday event will be the first ticker-tape parade for the Knicks.
The post What to Know About the Ticker-Tape Parade for the Knicks appeared first on New York Times.
